For users who have used a notebook computer at office or at home before, they must have the experience of connecting many cables of the peripherals such as a power cord, a network cable, a mouse cord, a printer cable, or a speaker cable of the notebook computer. If it is necessary to carry the notebook computer, a user has to unplug all of the aforementioned cables and cords, and if the notebook computer is used indoors, then all of these cables and cords have to be plugged again.
To solve the foregoing annoying problem, manufacturers have developed a multifunctional docking station derived from the concept of a mobile architecture. By the multifunctional docking station, a convenient way of installing and removing peripherals is provided. The multifunctional docking station is mainly divided into three kinds according to different functional requirements. The first kind is a basic model having many peripheral ports; the second kind is an expanded model having multibay installed on both sides of the multifunctional docking station for installing more peripherals, in addition to the foregoing various peripheral ports, and thus the notebook computer can be expanded to a multifunctional equipment similar to a desktop computer; and the third kind is an external docking station that uses a universal serial bus (USB) interface to connect the notebook computer.
Since the size of the notebook computer is limited, even an all-in-one model cannot store so many storage devices into the limited space of the notebook computer. Particularly, the space for installing a hard disk drive is very limited. After a user has used the notebook computer for a while, the stored data becomes larger and larger, and thus it is necessary to install an additional hard disk drive or back up the data by a burner. Of course, the user may use a local area network to transmit the data for data processing, but it is more convenient to process the data directly on the notebook computer. By then, the aforementioned multibay provides a flexible storage method, so that the peripherals on the multibay including a second detachable hard disk drive, a burner, a DVD-ROM, and a floppy disk drive can be installed to handle data, or a second battery can be installed to improve the battery time of the notebook computer, or the notebook computer can be swapped with a commercial desktop computer.
The so-called “Expandable mobile architecture” is a concept derived from the above mentioned principle and focusing on its powerful expandability, and thus users can manage to expand their desired functions. The multibay allows a hot swap of different peripherals, and an integration of platforms to satisfy different requirements, and the multifunctional docking station facilitates the installation and removal of various externally connected devices of the notebook computer.
However, if the multifunctional docking station is locked by a lock (such as a cable lock comprises of a lock head and a fixing cable extended outwardly from an end of the lock head), the multifunctional docking station can be prevented from being stolen by others, but the notebook computer installed on the multifunctional docking station can be released from the multifunctional docking station by a release button, so that the notebook computer can be loosened from the multifunctional docking station. Therefore, the notebook computer of the multifunctional docking station can be taken away or stolen by other people and thus causing tremendous damages to the user.
Even though a locking mechanism for simultaneously locking the multifunctional docking station and the notebook computer has been designed, the locking mechanism is relatively complicated and comes with a high cost. Therefore, finding a way of improving the foregoing shortcomings is an important issue for manufacturers to overcome.